SOURCE: Judicial Watch
Special Counsel John Durham’s three-year probe into the FBI and Robert Mueller’s investigations of former President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign will reach a critical moment with Monday’s trial of former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann.
The outcome of the closely watched case in Washington, DC — the first trial to result from Durham’s virtually leak-proof efforts — will be both a test of his work and a potential harbinger of the looming 2024 election, according to observers.
“If Sussmann, one of Hillary Clinton’s top campaign lawyers, is convicted, it will further confirm that Trump is a crime victim,” said Tom Fitton, president of the conservative Judicial Watch activist group.
“I would expect him to continue to say that [the government] illegally spied on him and that Hillary did it. And if Clinton runs, this anti-corruption message is even more likely to be front and center.”
Washington, DC, lawyer Jim Trusty, a former high-ranking Justice Department prosecutor, said that Durham “has a pretty strong case” against Sussmann, who’s charged with a single count of lying to the FBI.
“But you never know if a jury will rebel against [false-statement allegations] that are not accompanied by more serious crimes,” Trusty said.